


Flu Shot Chronicles

by LostInThought16



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Irondad, Ironfamily, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Needs a Hug, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Precious Peter Parker, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-27 01:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21110702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInThought16/pseuds/LostInThought16
Summary: Morgan Stark does not like shots. Neither does Peter Parker.





	Flu Shot Chronicles

**Author's Note:**

> I got my flu shot a few weeks ago, so naturally I was inspired to write a shamelessly fluffy IronFamily story about flu shots. Then life got crazy, and this somehow took me three weeks to write and post. Nonetheless, here it is.

Tony smiled at the sound of the front door banging open followed quickly by the staccato rhythm of small shoes on the floor. Morgan never entered the house quietly. “Morgan, come back here and take your shoes off please,” he heard Pepper say. He admired the way his wife always had patience with their daughter, even when she was telling Morgan something for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Morgan and Pepper came into the kitchen together as Tony stirred spices into a pot of chili. He had spent the afternoon making soup while Pepper ran errands and picked Morgan up from school. It was Friday, and everyone was settling down for the weekend. The weather had just started to cool off, so Tony thought it would be the perfect evening for some soup and a quiet movie night. Pepper opened a cabinet to begin setting the table while Morgan sat down in her usual chair. “How was your day, Maguna?” he asked.

Morgan’s eyes lit up. She was nearly always in a talkative mood when she got home after a school day. “It was good. I got to read a book out loud to the whole class, Daddy! Mrs. Jackson picked me!”

Tony beamed with pride. As much as Pepper liked to tease him for it, he had rather unashamedly become a father who gushed over every single one of his daughter’s accomplishments, no matter how small. “That’s great, kiddo! You’re becoming quite the proficient reader.”

Morgan’s brow furrowed. “What’s proficient?” she asked, looking back and forth between her mother and father. They had begun using larger words in conversations with Morgan in an attempt to expand her vocabulary. Being the curious child she was, it was working out rather splendidly.

“It means you’re getting good at it,” Pepper supplied. Morgan smiled at the praise.

Tony turned from where he stood at the stove. “Hey, Maguna, I’ve got a question for you.” She nodded at him expectantly. “You said you want a new coat and some new snow boots, right?” Another nod, this one decidedly more excited. The beginnings of a smile were forming on her face. “How would you like to go shopping with Mommy tomorrow after you get your flu shot?”

Morgan visibly flinched before responding with a less-than-convincing: “Yes please, Daddy.”

Tony shot Pepper a puzzled look. She raised her eyebrows at him, but he continued to look confused. “Morgan, why don’t you run to the bathroom and get washed up for dinner?” Pepper suggested. Morgan nodded and wandered out of the room with considerably less energy than she had displayed when she got home mere minutes earlier.

Tony looked expectantly at his wife. “Why does she look like we just kicked her puppy?”

“Please don’t ever say puppy in this house. We don’t need her getting any ideas.” Pepper paused a moment before continuing. “She’s afraid of shots, Tony.”

Tony’s face screwed up dismissively. “What? No she’s not! I’ve seen her get shots before. She’s never been scared of them.”

Pepper sighed. “She tells you she’s not scared. That’s because her daddy is Iron Man, and he’s not afraid of anything. She wants you to be proud of her, so she doesn’t want you to know she’s scared, but you can tell every time. She gets quiet and timid and her eyes get huge.”

Pepper winced at the hurt look on Tony’s face. “Why does she think I wouldn’t be proud of her if she’s scared? I’m _always_ proud of her, Pep.”

She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Of course you are. It’s not because of anything you did. She just wants to be like you, and she thinks you’re not scared of anything, so she doesn’t want to be scared, but she is.”

Tony was pacing now. “Oh, I’m scared of lots of things. I’ll tell her how much it scares me to see her leave the house.”

Yet again, Pepper sighed. “That’s not going to work, Tony.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“She’ll feel like you’re just placating her. She’ll understand the timing.” Tony huffed. As much as he wanted to deny it, Pepper was right. Morgan would likely figure out why he had randomly brought up his fears when she was about to do something she dreaded. Having a child who was the offspring of two extremely intelligent people wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Nonetheless, Tony flopped down into the nearest kitchen chair. “Well then what are we supposed to do?”

Pepper smiled. “I think I know just who to call.”

-

Morgan frowned as the car came to a stop on the curb. “Daddy, this isn’t the doctor’s office.”

After putting the car in park, Tony turned around to face his daughter who was sitting in the back seat. “You are correct, oh wise offspring of mine. We’re stopping along the way to pick up a passenger.” Morgan tilted her head sideways, her question clear in her facial expression.

Her question was answered when the door to the backseat was pulled open from the outside. “Hey, Morgs! How's it going?” Peter greeted her with a smile.

She responded with a question of her own. “Why are you coming to the doctor with us, Petey?”

Peter huffed out a breath and jutted his bottom lip out. His eyes narrowed when he saw Tony and Pepper shamelessly exchange a smirk at his pouting. “Because adults are mean,” Peter sulked.

“That doesn’t answer the question,” Morgan pointed out.

Peter laughed at that. Morgan sounded a little more like her parents every day. “Your dad called Aunt May last night and told her you guys were going to the doctor for a flu shot today. He said you guys could take me if I hadn’t gotten mine yet. Aunt May was all too happy to sign me up to get stabbed with a needle. Like I said, adults are mean.”

Morgan looked like she was about to voice her agreement with Peter, but Pepper turned around and interjected before things could get too out of hand. “We don’t take you to get your vaccines because we want to cause you pain. We do it for your own good.” She had to turn back around so she wouldn’t start laughing at the matching pouts on the occupants of the back seat.

“Still mean,” Peter muttered.

This time it was Tony’s turn to respond.“That’s not what you were saying when I gave you a brand new laptop a few months ago.”

“That was before this betrayal.”

Tony actually did start laughing after that remark. “Geez, kid, if you decide you don’t want to go to MIT maybe you can try acting school. Your drama skills are making exemplary progress.”

Peter was about to respond with another sassy retort when a small hand tugging on his sleeve stopped him. “Petey, do you not like shots?”

Peter looked down to make eye contact with the 5 year-old staring at him with wide, curious eyes. He nodded. “Yeah, needles scare me.”

Morgan’s eyes got impossibly bigger at his admission. “_Really_? You’re afraid?”

He nodded nonchalantly. “Yep, always have been ever since I was little.” Morgan continued to stare at him.

Before Peter could get too flustered trying to figure out something to say, Tony bailed him out. “We’re here, folks.” He gestured to the building they were just pulling up in front of. “Pep, do you want to take them inside and get checked in while I park the car?” She gave her assent, and within minutes they were all sitting together in the waiting area.

Much too quickly for Morgan and Peter’s liking, the door by the reception desk opened and a nurse emerged. “Morgan and Peter,” she called. After standing up from his chair, Peter wordlessly reached for Morgan’s hand. Thankfully, neither he nor Morgan noticed as Pepper discreetly took a photo of the two walking hand-in-hand toward the open door.

When they arrived in the exam room, Morgan’s fear began to show. She looked back and forth between her parents with wide eyes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “Who’s going first?” the nurse asked gently, smiling as she looked between Peter and Morgan.

A quick glance at Morgan told Peter she probably could benefit from watching someone else before she got her shot. “I think I’d like to get it over with,” he said, already hopping up onto the exam table as he spoke.

“Sounds good, just let me get the supplies.” With that, the nurse was slipping back out of the exam room.

As soon as the door closed, Morgan came to stand in front of Peter and stared up at him. “What do you do when you start getting nervous?” The timidness in her voice broke the hearts of every other person in the room.

Peter’s head tilted slightly to the right as he pondered her question. “Well, normally I make Aunt May hold me. It helps me feel a little less nervous. But she’s not here right now, so that means you’re on cuddle duty, Morgs.” She nodded solemnly, apparently accepting the role she’d been assigned. Upon seeing her assent, Peter bent forward, lifted her under the arms, set her sideways on his lap, and cuddled her to his chest, tucking her head underneath his chin. “Mmm, this helps for sure,” he sighed.

As soon as they were situated, the door opened again, and the nurse came back into the room holding a tray. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”

Morgan could feel Peter swallow as the nurse began rolling up his sleeve. “Morgs, what’s the silliest thing your dad did this week?” he asked, voice breaking a little at the end of the question.

“Excuse me-” Tony began, but Morgan cut him off.

“Last night after we watched Inside Out, Mommy said everyone in the house needed to go to bed. She said everyone included Daddy.” With her head tucked under Peter’s chin, Morgan couldn’t see the wide smile on his face. “Daddy went upstairs with Mommy for a little while, but then he went back downstairs so he could go to the garage and build things.”

Peter winced as the needle plunged into his arm, but Morgan didn’t notice as she watched her mother’s jaw drop. “Tony-” Pepper began, but Tony was already on the offensive.

“Oh, you think you’re so clever, don’t you, little miss? Do you want to tell Mommy why you were even awake and wandering the house to see what I was doing?”

By now, the nurse had placed a bandage over Peter’s arm. “You forgot to give me a good night kiss,” Morgan replied. She even went so far as to push out her bottom lip. She was milking this for all it was worth, and it was all Tony could do to keep from rolling his eyes.

“All finished, Peter!” the nurse interrupted. “Morgan, it’s your turn.”

Morgan visibly gulped before moving to climb off of Peter’s lap. “Excuse me, where do you think you’re going?” Peter asked, mock indignation coloring his voice. Morgan’s face screwed up in confusion. “I’m not finished with my cuddle buddy yet. I still need lots of hugs and love. You’re staying right here.” Morgan nodded and eagerly snuggled back into Peter’s chest. For his part, Peter tucked her head back under his chin, hoping his body would obscure her view of the needle sitting on the table by his thigh. “Give me your hand, Morgs,” he whispered, grabbing her right hand in his left and then pulling it to rest across her stomach so there would be some slack in her arm.

Morgan was beginning to get comfortable, but all of that went out the window when the nurse slid her sleeve up to her shoulder. Peter could feel her go tense in his lap. “Petey,” she whimpered, and Peter could feel her begin to squirm.

“Shhh,” he soothed, right hand stroking her hair while he continued to hold her hand in his left one. “I know it’s scary, but I promise it’ll all be over in a second.” He looked up and made eye contact with Tony. “So, Mr. Stark, did you go to bed after you put Morgan back to bed?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “What is this, an interrogation?”

Pepper glanced over and could see Morgan’s eyes whip back and forth between her and Tony. It seemed the distraction was working. “That’s not an answer, Tony. What time did you go to sleep?”

Tony sighed. “2:00,” he answered right as the nurse injected the vaccine into Morgan’s arm.

Morgan flinched and whined, but Pepper kept right on talking to keep her attention elsewhere. “Hmm, sounds like someone needs an early bedtime tonight.”

Tony now had his arms crossed. “Yes, I agree, Mr. Parker could absolutely use an early bedtime seeing as he’s the brat who started this whole thing in the first place.”

Any other day, Peter would’ve snarked back at Tony, but today all he did was toss him a smirk before turning his attention back to the small Stark on his lap. “Great job, Morgs,” he whispered before pressing a kiss to the crown of her hair. “All over now.”

She finally pulled her head out from under his chin and looked up at him with big, shiny eyes. “You too, Petey. You did really good.”

Pepper was so drawn into the moment that she didn’t even bother to correct her daughter’s grammar. Instead, she turned to quietly address the nurse. “Are we all set?”

The nurse nodded and smiled. “Yep, you guys can head out whenever you’re ready. You don’t need to stop at the front desk.” She turned to look at Morgan and Peter who were still cuddling on the exam table. “Great job, you two! You were both very brave.” Morgan blushed and smiled at the praise, and it was all Peter could do to stop himself from attacking her with kisses. Sometimes she was just too cute.

Peter stood up and set Morgan on his hip. He leaned down and whispered into her ear for a moment, and then two faces were snapping to look at Tony, matching pouts and huge eyes adorning both faces. Tony’s eyes rolled back into his head. “Alright, let’s hear it. What are you two attempting to con me into now?”

“We were pretty brave today,” Peter began, drawing the words out. “I think that deserves ice cream on the way home.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you do, do you?”

Morgan nodded seriously. “We were so brave, daddy!”

Tony was tempted to drag it out a bit longer, but the look Pepper was giving him told him she expected him to hurry up and indulge the kids. “Oh, alright,” he conceded. “I guess you’ve both earned some ice cream today, even if you are a couple of snitches.” He reached out and ruffled Morgan’s hair, smiling as she clung to Peter for protection from her playful father. Before she could burrow in too far, Tony tugged gently on her shoulder. “Come here, little miss, I need a kiss after all this excitement.” Morgan scrambled into his arms and dutifully placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek. He returned her kiss five-fold, making her giggle and push his face away as his lips moved from spot to spot on her cheeks. When Morgan had successfully aborted his barrage of kisses, Tony placed her down on the floor and gave her hair another ruffle. “Mommy’s turn,” he said with a soft pat on her back to start her walking toward Pepper.

Once Tony was satisfied that Morgan was occupied with kissing her mother and wasn’t paying attention to the other occupants of the room, he turned to address Peter. “Thanks for coming along, kid. I know you aren’t a fan of needles. It means a lot that you’d come do this with an audience to help us out.”

“It wasn’t to help you guys out,” Peter argued. Tony raised his eyebrows. “Okay, it was a little bit to help you guys out. But it was mostly for Morgan. You know I love her, right?”

Tony’s eyes softened. “Of course, Pete. You know she loves you too, right?” Peter smiled and nodded. “And so do we.” At this, a blush overtook Peter’s cheeks. He was stumbling through an attempt to come up with an appropriate response when Morgan turned away from Pepper to grab one of his hands and one of Tony’s.

“Let’s go get ice cream!” she all but squealed.

Within minutes they were back in the car and on their way to Dairy Queen. They were only a couple minutes into the car ride when Morgan shifted in her car seat to face Peter. “Petey, are you really scared of shots?”

Peter nodded emphatically. “Yeah, Morgs, they kinda freak me out.”

Hey eyebrows furrowed. “But you’re so brave!”

Peter tilted his head, carefully contemplating his response before speaking. “Everyone is afraid of something, Morgan, even people who seem really brave.”

Morgan’s eyes got wide. “Even Daddy?”

Peter chuckled. “Of course even your dad!”

She regarded him carefully, her disbelief evident on her face. “Really? What’s Daddy afraid of?”

Now Peter was smirking. “Did you see the look on his face when your mom found out he stayed up late last night? Your dad is terrified of your mom.”

Tony glanced to the rearview mirror to make eye contact with Peter. “I will stop this car right now and make you walk home,” he threatened.

Pepper reached over to swat lightly at his arm, taking care not to hit him hard enough to jerk the steering wheel. “The only person who is in danger of walking home is you, Mr. Stark.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t even have to look at his wife to know that she was shooting him a rather unimpressed look. He settled for a, “Yes, dear,” that was only a little sarcastic.

“See, told you,” Peter stage whispered to Morgan, setting off a round of giggles from the backseat. Try as he might, Tony couldn’t bring himself to glare at the kids laughing behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hopefully I will find more inspiration for IronFamily fluff which is my weakness.


End file.
